In Memoriam -- Sam's Mom

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A few months ago, Off-Ramp's roving city critic, Sam Hall Kaplan, told us about his mom Sadie's latest comeback from her deathbed. But Sam just wrote to say that just a few days after her 106th birthday, Sadie passed away on June 30th. (Sam's note inside.)

The back story:

Sam's mother, Sadie Kaplan, was by all accounts a remarkable woman. One highlight of her long life was that she went to school to learn to be a telephone operator, and Alexander Graham Bell came to address her class!

Fast forward seven or eight decades, to earlier this year. As Sam told it, Sadie was 105, very sick, on her deathbed. The family gathered around. Sam's older sister, as older sisters will, said something like, "Mom, you've led a happy and long life." At which point Sadie sits up and says, "NOT LONG ENOUGH!"

But as Sam wrote me this morning:

"She finally did succumb, passing away peacefully June 30. The family had gathered in NY for her 106th birthday, so all the sibs and many of the 14 grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren were present.

"She really was a truly good person, and I was beginning to think if one lived a good life, had a kind word for all, and voted Democratic, they might live forever.

"There was no trip to the hospital. She stayed at home to the end, embraced by all.

"I know 106 is a long run, but really I feel she didn't live long enough."

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Off-Ramp is a lively weekly look at Southern California through the eyes and ears of radio veteran John Rabe. News, arts, home, life... covering everything that makes life here exciting, enjoyable, and interesting.